You are here: Home / Cancer Research Network / News & events / News

News

Cancer patients to receive cutting edge treatments faster

15 July 2011

Cancer patients will benefit from new scientific breakthroughs and treatments much sooner than at present, thanks to a multimillion dollar program announced by the NSW government that University of Sydney researchers are playing a key role in.

The University will head two new Translational Cancer Research Centres - bodies which will bring together researchers, educators, doctors and other health workers to ensure cancer patients receive the best treatments available.

The University will also head up a new unit based at the North Shore Hospital with a focus on personalising treatments for cancer patients, and play a key role in a new centre for the application of childhood cancer research.

NSW Minister for Health and Medical Research Jillian Skinner said the program "is about getting doctors and specialists, who treat cancer patients every day, working closely with our cutting-edge researchers and expediting the latest possible evidence into patient care.

"Researchers in turn will be able to hear first hand from doctors and nurses the issues that need to be addressed to improve outcomes at the treatment table," Mrs Skinner said.

Professor Jill Trewhella, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney welcomed the announcement. "This is a terrific outcome for us and recognition of the great strength in cancer research across the University of Sydney," she said.

"By leading two of the new Translational Cancer Research Centres, one at Westmead and another at Camperdown, we will deliver the breadth and depth of translational clinical research needed to improve care and outcomes for cancer sufferers in NSW and beyond."

Each centre will involve collaborations with a number of partners, including the Westmead Millennium Institute, the Melanoma Institute Australia, the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse at Royal Prince Alfred and the Kinghorn Cancer Centre at the Garvan Institute.

Additionally, University of Sydney researchers at the Kolling Institute at Royal North Shore Hospital will lead a new Translational Cancer Research Unit, while others will partner with the Children's Medical Research Institute at Westmead and contribute to the Children's Translational Cancer Research Centre.

The University of Sydney-led research hubs and related projects will receive approximately $15.5 million in NSW government funding, with the University contributing additional funds. Two new Chairs of Translational Cancer Research will also be established at the University of Sydney to provide overall leadership and strategy for cancer research.

"To ensure our researchers capitalise on this visionary change in the NSW cancer research landscape, led by the Cancer Institute NSW, the University will make a substantial strategic contribution to these centres from our Cancer Research Fund," said Professor Trewhella.

"In all we will be investing over $1 million in 2012 in the four centres, with funding continuing for the life of the centres, supporting the recruitment of key researchers to our translational cancer research efforts."

Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Institute NSW Professor David Currow said the program marks an exciting time to be working in cancer research in NSW.

"Think of what can be achieved by getting our best and brightest medical and research minds working together," Professor Currow said.

"We know that it can take some time for scientific breakthroughs to be taken up into routine practice across the health system. This program will speed this process up, helping us to save even more lives."

Key new research hubs

Nurses contribute to cancer research

27 May 2011

A Cancer Nursing Research Unit has been launched acknowledging the central role of specialist cancer nurses in the delivery of quality cancer services in New South Wales.

The unit is an innovative collaboration between Sydney Nursing School at the University of Sydney, the Cancer Institute of New South Wales and the Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It combines Sydney Nursing School's strength in cancer and palliative care research and the Sydney Cancer Centre's excellence in clinical cancer care to develop and support cancer nursing clinicians across NSW.

Professor Kate White, Professor of Cancer Nursing said:

"With the number of cases of cancer continuing to grow, the Cancer Nursing Research Unit will help meet the needs of people in NSW by expanding the contribution of cancer nurses to quality cancer services, including the extended role of nurses in both clinical and community sectors."

Professor Kate White's appointment as Professor of Cancer Nursing is NSW's first Academic Chair in Cancer Nursing and is funded by the Cancer Institute NSW. Under her leadership the Cancer Nursing Research Unit provides support in areas of cancer nursing research, education, models of service provision and is working to optimise state-wide cancer nursing services.

"Specialist cancer nurses have a central role in the delivery of quality cancer services. In NSW, where there are over 2000 cancer and palliative care nurses, they are the largest professional group involved in cancer care. They have high level expertise in coordinating, supporting and managing the patient through diagnosis, treatment and recovery in both acute care and community settings. Their specialised knowledge enables them to provide better care which ultimately improves patient outcomes," Professor White said.

The Cancer Nursing Research Unit launch will showcase research being led by both cancer nurses and the Sydney Nursing School across NSW, including:

  • improving the delivery of care for patients with head and neck cancer
  • improving nutrition care for women after gynaecological cancer
  • fast-track surgery for women with gynaecological cancer
  • information resources on breast reconstruction for women after breast cancer.

These research studies demonstrate the important role of cancer nurses in supporting their patients and their role in decision making about future trends in treatment, patient care and disease prevention.

The Cancer Nursing Research Unit will be launched by Professor David Currow, Chief Cancer Officer and Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Institute NSW, and Professor Jill White AM, Dean of Sydney Nursing School at the University of Sydney.

Media enquiries: Judith Kingston, 93510657, 0414 574 536 judith.kingston@sydney.edu.au
Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579,

Back to top

New cancer study finds benefit in old therapy

26 May 2011

Cancer patients who used a 5000-year-old combination of gentle exercise and meditation experienced significantly higher wellbeing levels, improved cognitive functioning and less inflammation compared to a control group, new University of Sydney research has found.

Dr Byeongsang Oh, a clinical senior lecturer at the Sydney Medical School who led the study, said the reduced inflammation in patients who practised medical Qigong, a form of traditional Chinese medicine, was particularly significant.

"Several studies have indicated chronic inflammation is associated with cancer incidence, progression and even survival," says Dr Oh, who will present his findings to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago next week.

"Patients who practiced medical Qigong experienced significant improvements in quality of life, including greater physical, functional, social and emotional wellbeing, and enhanced cognitive functioning, while the control group deteriorated in all of these areas," Dr Oh says.

He also found the patients in the medical Qigong group reported increased satisfaction with their sex lives.
The study involved 162 patients, with those assigned to the medical Qigong group undertaking a ten-week program of two supervised 90-minute sessions per week. They were also encouraged to practise at home every day for at least half an hour.

The mean age of participants in this study was 60, with ages ranging from 31 to 86 years. The most common primary cancer diagnosis among participants was breast cancer (34 percent) followed by colorectal cancer (12 percent).

When the study began there were no significant differences in measurements of quality of life, fatigue, mood status and inflammation between the intervention and control groups.

"To our knowledge, our study is the first statistically significant, randomised controlled trial to measure the impact of medical Qigong in patients with cancer," Dr Oh says.

Interview contact: Dr Oh is available for interviews until he leaves for the ASCO on Saturday 28 May. Contact him on 0438 135 677 or byeong.oh@sydney.edu.au

Media enquiries: Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584, kath.kenny@sydney.edu.au
Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579,

Back to top

Several cancers underrepresented in clinical trials

18 April 2011

Several cancers with a high burden of disease are not receiving the clinical trial investment they require, according to a University of Sydney study published this week in the Medical Journal of Australia.

"Four of the five cancers that result in the greatest burden of disease had relatively few clinical trials: lung, colorectal, prostate and pancreatic cancers," said Dr Rachel Dear, a medical oncologist and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney.

Dr Dear and her coauthors explored the association between cancer clinical trial activity, burden of disease and sponsorship sources.

"We found that the number of trials for each cancer type did not always match the burden of disease caused by that cancer, thereby identifying gaps in cancer trials research," Dr Dear said.

Of 386 interventional cancer trials open to recruitment in Australia, breast cancer accounted for 62 trials. Yet only 24 trials were being conducted on lung cancer, despite it being responsible for the greatest burden of disease.

Dr Dear found that industry sponsorship is more likely for randomised controlled trials that investigate systemic therapies (drugs or biological agents) for patients with advanced cancers.

"Clinical trial registries are a largely untapped resource to describe the clinical research landscape and guide future trial activity," she said.

In an accompanying editorial, Professor Ian Olver of the Cancer Council Australia, said the study reflected the international situation, where investment in trials for specific cancer types does not correlate with the disease burden caused by those cancers.

Data from clinical trial registries have many applications. Clinicians and patients can search for trial options for specific conditions when standard treatments have been exhausted, or where no effective treatment exists, Professor Olver said.

"Data from clinical trial registries should be used to monitor the progress of such efforts to ensure Australia has a robust clinical trial capability."

Interview contacts: Dr Rachel Dear 0416 112 539 and Professor Ian Olver 0409 220 026

Media enquiries: Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579, victoria.hollick@sydney.edu.au
Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584,

Back to top

Indigenous quit smoking program trains 1000

14 April 2011

A University of Sydney program aimed at cutting high smoking rates in Aboriginal communities has trained its one thousandth health worker.

The program, called SmokeCheck, was launched in 2007 and is funded jointly by the NSW Department of Health and the Cancer Institute NSW. It has now trained 1000 Aboriginal health workers and health practitioners across NSW.

"The SmokeCheck program aims to train all NSW Aboriginal health workers and other health professionals who provide care for Aboriginal people to encourage their clients who smoke to quit," says Luciana Massi, SmokeCheck's senior trainer.

"It's really exciting to reach such a significant milestone. Smoking is contributing to the high mortality rates of Aboriginal people and is a major contributor to serious illness such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes," Ms Massi said.

Sandra Wallace, the one thousandth trainee, is an Aboriginal Health Education officer in inner Sydney. Sandra is also a current student at the University of Sydney studying the Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion.

The smoking rate among Aboriginal Australians is almost double that of non-Aboriginal people, although there have been reductions rates of smoking among Aboriginal people over the past decade.

The 2006-2009 Report on Adult Aboriginal Health found that 33.9 percent of Aboriginal adults in NSW are current smokers, compared to 17.2 percent of the general population. This shows a significant decrease from the 2002-2005 report's findings, which indicated more than four in every 10 (43.2 percent) Aboriginal adults were current smokers.

SmokeCheck, as a leading evidence-based brief intervention smoking cessation program designed specifically for Aboriginal people, is in a unique position to continue contributing to a fall in smoking rates in Aboriginal communities in NSW.

Ms Massi explains: "Each time a client comes to the health service they may not have thought about giving up, but the SmokeCheck intervention encourages them to think about why they smoke."

"The health worker then uses the culturally specific resources to support their client in quitting and the conversation can be revisited at future visits," says Ms Massi.

Reducing the high rates of tobacco smoking among the Aboriginal population will help to close the 17-year life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.

For registration or further information about SmokeCheck workshops, visit the SmokeCheck website, call 9351 5129 or email smokecheck@sydney.edu.au

Media enquiries: Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584, kath.kenny@sydney.edu.au
Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579, victoria.hollick@sydney.edu.au

Back to top

Cooperation in cancer research

13 April 2011

A theory of cell cooperation in cancer has earned two University of Sydney researchers a 2011 Human Frontiers of Science Program Grant.

Dr Guy Lyons from Sydney Medical School has proposed a theory of cell cooperation in cancer where two or more mutant clones interact to enhance each other's growth and survival and together make up malignant tissue.

Along with Associate Professor Mary Myerscough from the University of Sydney's School of Mathematics and Statistics and Dr Silvio Gutkind of the National Institutes of Health, USA, Dr Lyons will work to identify mutations in microscopic parts of human tumours and use new types of genetically engineered mice to determine how often tumours arise from two or more clones.

Dr Lyons says cancers occur when key genes in cells become mutated, often as a result of exposure to carcinogenic chemicals or radiation.

"The cancer-causing mutations enable those cells to proliferate out of control, forming a tumour, and to spread through the patient's body where they can form secondary tumours."

Conventional theory says that several mutations accumulate over time in a single lineage, or "clone" of cells, which has all of the mutations necessary to be cancerous.

"But research over many years has shown that often more than one clone persists in cancers, and the different clones have different mutations. If more than one clone persists, why should only one be active? And if more than one is active, how do they interact?" states Dr Lyons.

"Clones from multi-clone tumours can be separated, grown in flasks and then recombined to find what characteristics produce strong cooperation between clones that leads to malignancy," he suggests.

The group will also use computer simulation models of cancer to explore how cancers behave and how they will respond to therapy. The outcome will be a new genetic paradigm for cancer that could revolutionise cancer research and therapy.

The Human Frontiers of Science program encourages interdisciplinary and international collaborative research in innovative science.

Media enquiries: Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579, victoria.hollick@sydney.edu.au
Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584,

Back to top

Fear and poor information increase cervical cancer risks

28 March 2011

Some girls are missing out on the vaccination that helps protect against cervical cancer because of fears related to the vaccination process, a study by researchers at the University of Sydney and the Children's Hospital at Westmead has found.

In the study, carried out at nine Sydney metropolitan schools and published in the current edition of the Medical Journal of Australia, researchers found many schoolgirls showed high levels of fear and anxiety when offered HPV vaccine (Gardasil).

Principal investigator Associate Professor Rachel Skinner said: "Sometimes this fear was so extreme it bordered on hysteria, with girls crying, screaming and fainting. When this intense fear was witnessed by girls waiting to be vaccinated, the girls' anxiety levels was heightened.

"Nurses had difficulty administering the vaccine to these girls, and this sometimes resulted in the girl not being vaccinated, despite their parents consenting to the vaccination," said Associate Professor Skinner.
Associate Professor Skinner said she and her team were surprised to find vaccination fear was so common. "We observed vaccination days in three schools and interviewed 130 girls who had been offered the vaccine, as well as 38 parents, seven nurses and 10 teachers. The girls' fear was the most prominent finding in our interview and observation data.

"One of the girls we interviewed said: 'We saw these two people [girls]... like pouring their eyes out and so our class got, like, freaked out... Like, 'are we going to get hurt?' So we were all, like, really scared and everyone was crying and getting all nervous'."

The girls' fear and anxiety was related to a lack of understanding about what the vaccine was, how it was administered, its risks and benefits, the researchers found.

"Our research shows few parents actually discuss the vaccine with their daughters, and teachers are ill-equipped to answer girls' questions," Associate Professor Skinner said. "Also, nurses are not able to educate girls about the vaccine because of time constraints during mass school vaccination."

She added: "Any young person who is offered the HPV vaccine should know what the vaccine is, what it protects against, its strengths and limitations. They may only be 12 or 13 years old but they can participate in looking after their own health.

"Our study has shown withholding information from young adolescents offered the HPV vaccine is not only undesirable, it appears to interfere with the efficiency of the vaccination process in schools."

Associate Professor Skinner and colleagues are currently developing an HPV vaccine educational resource for young adolescents for use by both schools and parents to address this important health issue. Her team will be presenting some of these tools to the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Conference in Seattle this coming week.

Interview contacts: Associate Professor Rachel Skinner, 0418 146 631

Media enquiries: Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579, victoria.hollick@sydney.edu.au
Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584,

Back to top

Australian Academy of Science fellowships

25 March 2011

Three University of Sydney academics were recognised as among Australia's leading scientists this week when they were admitted as Fellows into the prestigious Australian Academy of Science.

The trio, including the Dean of the Faculty of Science Professor Trevor Hambley, Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, and physicist, Professor Ross McPhedran, were acknowledged by their peers for their career achievements and their contribution to the advancement of the world's scientific knowledge.

They joined an elite group of 17 Australian scientists whose body of work covers a range of specialities including, nuclear fusion, quantitative genetics with applications in agriculture, sperm function, the ecology and evolution of microorganisms, and advances in wave science with applications in optical fibres and photonic crystals.

The Australian Academy of Science elects only a limited number of Fellows annually from among the nation's best scientific researchers.

The Academy's policies and procedures are developed to ensure that the new Fellows have made extremely significant and often seminal contributions to scientific knowledge in their fields of research.

Professor Trevor Hambley, School of Chemistry, was recognised for his distinguished work in bioinorganic chemistry, crystallography and molecular mechanics, including multidisciplinary research on metal anti-cancer drugs.

Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, also from the School of Chemistry, was selected for his work on materials and catalysis with applications in pharmaceuticals, process intensification and biofuels.

Wave science earned Professor Ross McPhedran his position as an Academy fellow. Professor McPhedran's work has led to improved performance in micro structured optical fibres, diffraction gratings and photonic crystals.

Media enquiries: Victoria Hollick, 9351 2579, 0401 711 361, victoria.hollick@sydney.edu.au

Back to top

Do pre-conceived expectations impact on doctor analysis of X-rays?

23 March 2011

Scientists have long suspected that clinicians' ability to read X-rays can be skewed according to what they expect to find, but a University of Sydney study published this month in the international journal Radiology did not find evidence to support this theory.

Lead author Warren Reed from the Faculty of Health Sciences put 22 highly experienced radiologists from the American Board of Radiologists to the test by studying the impact of prevalence expectation on the ability of the radiologists to detect pulmonary nodular lesions, or lung cancer.

The 22 radiologists were divided into three groups and given an identical set of 30 chest X-rays to examine. Researchers tested whether accuracy rates improved or declined if the groups of radiologists were given different information about the number of cancer nodules present in the X-rays, thus altering their expectations about what to find.

The findings of the study show that there was no significant change in the number of cancer nodules that observers noticed after being given a prior expectation. However the study found significant increases in eye movements that demonstrate that efficiency decreases at higher prevalence expectations rates.

"What tended to change was the way they looked at the images," Dr Reed said.

"This is an important finding as it could lead to extra fatigue which is detrimental to performance of radiologists, especially during long reporting sessions," Dr Reed said. "It was quite a revelation. You'd assume that a radiologist would sit down and look at things in the same way, time and time again."

The study is of particular importance to those interested in studying the relationship between observer process and observer accuracy under laboratory and clinical conditions.

Dr Reed is a member of the Image Optimisation and Perception Group in the Faculty of Health Sciences, which researches image perception and interpretation of medical imaging. Biological imaging is a fundamental component of health care systems and laboratory research. In the wake of major technological advancements the area is undergoing unprecedented change whereby imaging techniques, along with analytical tools, are being developed to display biological tissues and processes in new ways.

Media enquiries: Jacqueline Chowns, 9036 5404, 0434 605 018,

Back to top

Cervical cancer vaccine causing confusion

14 March 2011

The public 'recruitment' campaign promoting the new cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil has done little to educate adolescent girls about the cause of the cancer, University of Sydney researchers Kellie Burns and Kate Russell have found.

Dr Burns and Dr Russell, both lecturers in health education in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, have followed the rollout of the vaccine in two girls' schools over the last 12 months.

They found a significant lack of understanding among high school girls and their parents about the causes of cervical cancer, and that the campaign had missed an opportunity to properly inform girls about preventative sexual health.

Dr Burns said that "the key information missing in the pamphlets and the advertising is about human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes the cancer. The girls receiving the inoculation are also ill informed about HPV's link to sexual activity or health."

The vaccine is voluntary in Australia, and while this gives individuals choice and control over their health decisions, Dr Burns said that "choice without information is the problem."

Dr Burns and Dr Russell support the vaccination program, but believe young women and their parents need to have all the available information, including discussions of the possible risks and side effects, to make their decisions. Without this the effectiveness of the program's aims is compromised and the importance of ongoing cervical screening, supported by research, could be overlooked.

The study looked at the students' knowledge about the spread and nature of HPV. Dr Burns said: "The girls knew very little, but had plenty of questions; they hadn't talked much about it."

"The parents in particular were trusting the school to provide information without knowing what advice their daughters were getting.

"The schools were very supportive of the vaccine program and we found that some teachers included the HPV vaccine in their health education classes, an ideal environment for these discussions to take place in. Other teachers were less inclined to discuss it."

"What we've been getting back from principals is that there is no difference in terms of how the school is involved in the rollout with the cervical cancer vaccine compared to, for example the hepatitis B or chickenpox vaccines," Dr Burns said. "They want to maintain the sense of normalcy around the vaccine."

"That is a positive message for normalising a program that relates to sexual health but the negative side is that an opportunity for students to learn about HPV and its relationship, not only to cervical cancer but to broad sexual health practices, is being missed."

Media enquiries: Verity Leatherdale, 0419 278 715, 9351 4312, verity.leatherdale@sydney.edu.au

Back to top

Mammograms catch second breast cancers early

23 February 2011

The results of a cohort study of women with a personal history of breast cancer published in this week's Journal of American Medical Association highlights the need for mammograms in women with a history of the cancer.

Describing the research project as the most comprehensive study of its kind, the authors reported that the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) study examined 58,870 screening mammograms in 19,078 women who had had early-stage breast cancer. An equal number of screening mammograms in 55,315 women who had no such history and were matched for breast density, age, BCSC registry, and year of mammography, was simultaneously investigated.

Nehmat Houssami, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney's School of Public Health, said the study found that women with a personal history of breast cancer had double the cancer rates as those with no such history.
"More women are surviving longer after having early-stage breast cancer, but they are at risk of developing breast cancer again, a recurrence, or a new cancer," she said.

"The comprehensive data from the BCSC made it possible for us to carefully examine the outcomes of screening for both the previously affected breast, as well as the opposite breast, at a population level," Dr Houssami said.

"This is the first study in the world, to our knowledge, to provide a complete picture of the expected outcomes of mammography screening for women with a personal history of breast cancer."
"Mammography was effective at finding cancers early in women who had had cancer, but not quite as effective as in those who had not," Dr Houssami said. "We found that both false positives and 'interval cancers' were higher, and mammography was not as sensitive at detecting invasive breast cancer, in women with a personal history of breast cancer."

False positives mean that a mammogram suggests a breast cancer may be present, but after further testing it turns out not to be. Interval cancers are breast cancers that were not detected on screening mammography and are found between mammography screens, prompted by either breast symptoms or additional testing.

"Because of the risk of interval cancers, it's important that women seek medical care for any breast changes or concerns between mammograms," said Dr Houssami's collaborator Diana Miglioretti, PhD, a senior investigator. "The good news is that most of the breast cancers detected in breast cancer survivors between mammography screens were early stage."

The National Cancer Institute-funded BCSC cooperative agreement, and Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council funding of the Screening and Test Evaluation Program, supported this research. Data collection was supported in part by several US state public health departments and cancer registries.

Interview contact: Associate Professor Nehmat Houssami, 0419 273 510, nehmath@health.usyd.edu.au

Media enquiries: Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584,
Victoria Hollick, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579,

Back to top

New research makes compelling case for bowel cancer screening program

21 February 2011

New international research published in the Medical Journal of Australia today shows the Federal Government could give all Australians aged 50 to 74 access to a life-saving bowel cancer test for as little as $80 million in net annual costs as health system savings accrue.

Cancer Council Australia said the findings, from academics at the University of North Carolina and the University of Sydney, made a compelling case for expanding the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program - which was winding down as the Government considered its future.

"The findings support the single message in Cancer Council Australia's pre-budget submission to Treasury: that expanding the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is the best investment available to the Australian Government for reducing cancer deaths in the short and long term," CEO Professor Ian Olver said.

"We will know on budget night whether the Government is prepared to make the investment this year - or whether more lives will be lost while program expansion is delayed."

Professor Olver said the estimated gross cost of $150 million for the program was comparable to the breast and cervical screening programs, both of which Cancer Council supported. "Yet bowel cancer is killing 1200 more Australians each year than breast and cervical cancers combined - why should people with bowel cancer miss out on a life-saving test?"

Study co-author Kathy Flitcroft, from the University of Sydney, said the annual $150 million outlay would decrease as cost offsets accrued, incidence reduced and people were diagnosed earlier, thus reducing hospital expenditure which accounted for most of Australia's escalating bowel cancer bill.

"Over time, we estimate net annual costs of an expanded program would be adjusted to around $80 million - only $50 million more than the Government is paying now for one-off testing of only three age groups," Ms Flitcroft said.

Lead author Professor Mike Pignone, from the University of North Carolina, said he hoped the study would help persuade the Australian Government to expand the program.

"The health system in Australia is well-regarded internationally, so it's anomalous that such a beneficial program, in terms of both health outcomes and cost-effectiveness, faces an uncertain future," Professor Pignone said.

Professor Olver said the study estimated up to 500 lives each year would be saved by an expanded program, however this was based on conservative participation rates. "If the program was properly promoted, participation would be expected to increase, with the potential to save up to 1000 lives a year - a greater mortality benefit than the breast and cervical cancer screening programs combined."

Interview contact: Ms Kathy Flitcroft, 0433 455 121, 9351 8062,

Media enquiries:
Kath Kenny, University of Sydney, 0478 303 173, 9351 1584,
Victoria Hollick, University of Sydney, 0401 711 361, 9351 2579,
Kate Dorrell, Cancer Council Australia, 0404 691 838,

Back to top